RWBY: Guardian No More
by AwkwardLaziness
Summary: Beacon Academy has a new student enrolled into the First Year, one returning from rehabilitation from an accident that cost him the lives of his former team. Join the members of teams RWBY and JNPR as they continue through their first year alongside their new classmate and the mysteries that surround him. Rated for Violence, Strong Themes, Romance, and Possible Suggestive Content
1. Episode 1

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own RWBY or any of the cast of characters. Full credit goes to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

**Synopsis:**

One year before team RWBY was formed...

First Year Raelenn Arma was a Future Hunter of Beacon Academy, possessing both excellent grades and top class combat skills he had a very bright and promising future ahead of him. When teams were formed he became a member of team GRDN (Guardian), one of the strongest teams Beacon had ever seen. His teammates Deen Solus, Nolan Everworth, and Leader Gabriel Panzern, were just as talented, and together they stood at the top of the entirety of the first years. Unfortunately fate often deals a cruel hand, and one tragic day team GRDN was all but annihilated in a freak accident that would that cost Raelenn the vision in his left eye and the lives of his teammates Deen and Nolan. Now months after rehabilitation and intense retraining the young upstart has returned to Beacon, after negotiations with Professor Ozpin, as a late enrollment into the first year. Left alone, rebuilt, and refocused, Raelenn has had a dark change in his outlook, the bright future he once strove towards is now dark and fueled by something beyond hate and vengeance alone. Is there any salvation for one who's discarded their shield and vows of protection for a path of reckless danger and self destruction? Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc, and their teams RWBY and JNPR seem to think so.

**RWBY: Guardian No More**

_Episode 1_

"Fallen Idol"

* * *

"High Guard- Low Guard- Stab- Cross Slash- Parry- Disengage-!"

Jaune Arc complied with the orders barked at him, jerky movements, and half-hearted telegraphed attacks. Each strike of the Javelin against his shield nearly rocked him out of position, the parry itself being the momentum that 'disengaged' the blonde, knocking him to his rear with a dull thud. He let out an exhausted sigh, leaning forward onto his knees, turning his head to face the ground so his sparring partner didn't get a clear view of his self pity. Whether or not his teammate picked up on his actions couldn't be discerned as she reached over to his arm and lifted him to his feet.

"You're looking better all the time Jaune, you just need to be more sure of yourself," Pyrrha Nikos assured him emphasizing her reinforcement with a light squeeze to his arm, "Attack and move with purpose, with confidence. You can't be serious in a fight if you do it half-heartedly."

Jaune sighed again, shield folding into place at his side before he sheathed his sword, "Thanks Pyrrha, I'll keep that in mind," he answered lifting his head with a small smile for the crimson haired woman to see.

For a moment the two simply exchanged smiles, nearly oblivious to the approach of the rest of team JNPR, though not for long as Nora bound over excitedly waving her arms in the air as if it would get their attention quicker. "Oh Leeeeaaaaadddeeerrr!~" she called out in a sing song voice, hopping to a stop just in front of Jaune and Pyrrha, "I just got wind of really, really, really, big news!" The girls excitement was practically overflowing, it wasn't often she got to hear about super secret information nobody knew about first! She wasn't even going to wait for the rest of her team to guess, how were they supposed to be able to guess in the first place? "We're getting a train."

Pyrrha blinked, "A train?"

Nora replied with an enthusiastic nod, though Lie Ren took the moment of silence to cut in, "Nora you don't really know if that's what it means."

"Yes I do!" she replied indignantly, "I heard Professor Ozpin very clearly, that we 'can expect the rail in today', I was only walking past but he was talking to Ms. Goodwitch near the library," to emphasize her point she simply stuck her tongue out at Lie Ren with a playful smile.

"A TRAIN!?" Jaune finally broke out, "Oh that's so awesome! Maybe it'll be a line between the dorms and the main building so I can sleep in a little bit more!"

"I can't wait to go for a ride on it!" Nora beamed joining Jaune in his day dreaming.

Lie and Pyrrha stood by and watched, Lie clearly looking less than interested in the two's delusions, nor was he convinced Nora was right. She had a habit of hearing what she wanted to hear or ignoring facts outright. "Guys, let's get going to class already," he called out to them before turning on his heel and back towards the main building. An instant later Nora was right by his side giggling to herself with the occasional train noise thrown in, clearly elaborating to her best friend the different things she was going to do once the new train arrived.

* * *

The campus was a buzz that day, something big was going to be happening, and from what most of team RWBY had gathered it had something special to do with the First Years. Of course, of the team only Ruby and Yang seemed to care to any significant degree, Yang furiously interrogating anyone she got her hands on for any information they knew and Ruby endlessly speculating on what it could mean for First Years. Weiss, however was less than impressed or enthusiastic, stating simply that they didn't need to concern themselves since if it really mattered there would be an announcement of some sort eventually. Blake didn't seem to worry either way, instead she simply kept to her book, occasionally peeking out from over top the pages at Yang and Ruby's antics. The morning break flew by in a hurry, and eventually the team found themselves in their homeroom class. The room was also filled with chatter about the so called 'surprise' at Beacon. The general consensus seemed to be that some sort of event was about to be announced.

Taking a seat in the row ahead of Jaune, Ruby leaned back to talk with him before the day officially started, "Hey Jaune, you hear anything about what's going on today?"

Jaune beamed at her, "Did I! Brace yourself Ruby, because this is big, really big."

"Uh-huh."

"Beacon is getting it's very own, super, duper, ultra cool, TRAIN!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah you heard me, a train! Nora over heard Professor Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch this morning."

Yang leaned in close, a skeptical expression, "Are you guys sure? Don't you need tracks and stations?"

"Yep." Lie sighed apparently having been listening in the whole time.

Before Jaune could come up with a any reasoning the morning bell rang and on the final chime, Glynda Goodwitch entered the room. Her sharp gaze was enough to usher silence as usual and without missing a beat she started the day, "Good morning class," she greeted formally, "Before I start it seems like you are all aware of the newest addition to Beacon," she pressed a small button on her data terminal and the classroom door swung open slowly. A male student with jet black hair and tanned skin strode into the room taking up a spot next to Glynda, "This is Raelenn Arma, a late enrollment into Beacon."

Once his name was mentioned the room hummed with whispers for a brief moment until Glynda interrupted with a firm voice, "He has not been assigned to a team yet, but he will still be attending classes like the rest of you, he may be joining you on training missions as an additional member of your respective teams, be sure to acquaint yourselves on your own time. Mr. Arma, please take a seat."

Jaune took a moment to sigh, audibly voicing his disappointment, "Aww not a train,"

Once class ended Ms. Goodwitch promptly exited the room, leaving them to their devices. A small silence went over the room as most of the eyes went on the new student, who'd sat through their first lecture silent and without making eye contact with anyone else in the room. Then without a word Raelenn rose from his seat and made his way out of the classroom. A moment later the four members of team CRDL followed suit.

Yang was the first to speak up, "Cute but he doesn't seem like mister personality or anything."

"Tell me about it," Ruby muttered, "He didn't do anything or say anything, he just stood there and... well, he just stood there until he sat down." The rest of the group seemed to agree, not really needing to say more on the matter.

"HEY WE'RE TALKING TO YOU-!" The voice of Cardin Winchester boomed just outside of the classroom door. The members of team JNPR and RWBY gave each other worried glances before making their way to the door to investigate. Just outside of the classroom and in the hall, team CRDL surrounded the new student with Cardin at the front looking quite annoyed.

"Think you're too good for us or something?" Cardin spat, "Huh?"

Raelenn simply stared at him, a blank though uninterested expression painted on his face. When Cardin went to grab the front of his uniform he simply held a hand out in front of him, a lazy block of the taller boys hand, "I'm not interested in associating with the weak, get out of my sight."

It was a simple and easily read goading but Cardin took the bait. He growled furiously and sent his fist flying towards Raelenn's face. In an instant a dark wave of cold spread from the new student and as the blue hue to his eyes darkened, his aura appeared, dark and gray, spiraling in a monochrome pinwheel in front of Cardin's fist, blocking the blue entirely. A second later his aura lashed out, knocking the taller boy hard against the wall. A hushed silence fell over the crowd, even as the rest of the members of team CRDL tensed and readied themselves to attack en masse. Raelenn clenched his fist, his aura seeming to respond as it settled into an visible glow around his body as h turned to face the three remaining members with a withering glare, "Don't waste my time anymore than you already have, just get your weakling of a leader out of my sight."

* * *

End Episode 1!

Let me know what you all think, any improvements or perhaps things I've missed. Heck, if you feel I've messed up the characters a bit let me know! Yes it's short but consider it more of an introduction chapter.

TL;DR Read and Review and I'll love you long time! 3


	2. Episode 2

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own RWBY or any of the cast of characters. Full credit goes to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

**RWBY: Guardian No More**

_Episode 2_

"First Impressions"

* * *

Ruby Rose stood just as awed as the rest of the students watching the altercation, silver eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. She had almost jumped in earlier but Yang had stopped her with a firm grip on his wrist, and whether or not it was an instinctual reaction from the dark aura that surrounded Raelenn at the time, Ruby was glad for her older sisters intuition. Though while others stood by in wonder, Lie Ren looked on with a concerned frown, gaze fixated entirely on Raelenn. It seemed at least Jaune noticed it as well as he recoiled back into the class room.

"Hey guys, let's make a little room huh?" He suggested in a whisper that was already too loud for its own good given the absolute silence the crowd was in. At this point Cardin was getting to his feet, fighting off the assistance of his fellow team members despite his shaky form, no doubt the attack had been more than a simple strike from Raelenn's aura.

"Mother fu-" Cardin started to utter a curse, his own aura flickering to life only to be cut off.

"I think that will about do here," an even voice drifted over the students from down the hall. Professor Ozpin walked forward flanked by Glynda Goodwitch as usual, stopping just outside of the gathered crowd his brown eyes resting on the raven haired student at the center of the crowd. "I'm not one to stop fights but you're damaging my school Mr. Arma," he stated coolly, "And Mr. Winchester, I don't concern myself with how you carry yourself around your fellow students, but as a future hunter you should learn to pick your battles."

Professor Ozpin didn't bother to look around at the rest of the students though Glynda seemed to have that covered already, piercing gaze scanning each and every one of the students present, "That is that, I'm sure the rest of you have much more productive things to do on your breaks," she stated with a dry tone that was more of a warning to disperse immediately than a simple statement.

"Mr. Arma I have business with you," he nodded to the new student and turned to leave and then as if an afterthought, he looked over his shoulder and into the classroom raising his voice loud enough to be clearly heard, "Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc, please come along and join us as well." With that he walked off, Raelenn following close behind flanked by Glynda, none of which seemed overly concerned whether or not Ruby and Jaune were going to follow.

Jaune panicked, "Huh? We didn't do anything did we? Oh... don't tell me we were supposed to save the new guy from the resident jerk!"

Blake shook her head, "You're both team Leaders, maybe he just wants to give you some information at the same time."

"Ugh, you're such a baby just go already and find out," Weiss admonished the leader of team JNPR, clearly unimpressed with his lack of a backbone.

Ruby nodded to the rest of her team, grabbing Jaune by the front of his chest plate and dragging him forward. She was just a nervous as he was but decided on a brave front after Blake and Weiss spoke up, "Come on Jaune, if we are in trouble the last thing we want to be is late."

"Why couldn't it have just been a train?"

* * *

"Well, that was quite the first impression to make."

Raelenn only nodded in response though respectfully, standing fully at attention as the Professor spoke. Despite his handling of the situation earlier he wasn't one to disrespect someone like Professor Ozpin, though unlike most of the students of Beacon Academy it as for more than just his position as Headmaster. Even then he knew that this wasn't so much a half baked lecture as to the man's fishing at Raelenn's position.

"I'm sure you're well aware of my expectations by now. I don't hold my students by the hand, Beacon is a place where you make the journey. The instructors and I are merely here as tools or resources for yourselves," he leveled his eyesight with Raelenn's, his gaze growing serious for a moment, "Just remember that everything has a consequence Mr. Arma. I won't pretend you're ignorant to your own choices, but you're treading a dangerous path... I pray you don't lose your soul to it."

"Sir," Raelenn acknowledged before a knock at the door drew both of their attention.

"Come in Ms. Rose, Mr. Arc," Professor Ozpin called.

Ruby and Jaune stepped in nervously, both glancing between Raelenn and Professor Ozpin, Glynda followed behind them data terminal in hand. When she shut the door behind the two they both jumped a little, clearly startled, though the Professor merely gave an amused smile.

"I assure you you're not in trouble, so calm down a little," Jaune let out a loud relived sigh, Ruby doing a much better job in hiding her own through a deep breath."You've already been introduced to Mr. Arma here, correct?"

They both nodded.

"Good. Currently there are no teams in need of replacement members and given that we don't normally allow these sorts of things to happen I decided to make an exception in this case. That said, many of our activities here are team oriented and because his temporary dorm is a spare room in your teams' wing, I have decided to assign him temporarily under team JNPR. Since this is a special situation and team RWBY is scheduled to participate in the co-op trials with Team JNPR this is your chance as Leaders to ask any questions you may have." The silence that followed seemed enough for Professor Ozpin, "Very well, that is all."

Jaune exited the room in a hurry followed by Ruby and Raelenn who seemed to be in much less of a rush to escape. Glynda watched the trio leave and once the door shut behind them she turned back to the Professor, "Are you sure leaving him under Jaune Arc is the best idea? I don't think he'll be able to rein him in."

* * *

Jaune sighed to himself once the door clicked shut behind him. Why did it have to be him of all people? He was still having issues adapting to being the Leader of Team JNPR, how was he supposed to figure out what to do with someone so scary? Still, he had to do something, at least exert a bit of confidence in front of him. Turning he extended a hand to Raelenn, "Looks like we'll be working together from here on out, I'm Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

His extended hand was met with an uninterested stare though Raelenn did have the courtesy to nod, "So it seems," he responded.

Ruby flashed Jaune a reassuring smile before jumping in, "And I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY!" Her enthusiasm was met with another simple nod.

For an awkward moment the three stood in silence outside of the Headmasters office before Raelenn finally broke the stalemate. "I'm going to class," he informed both of them and strode off. Once he rounded a corner and the sounds of his footsteps could be heard a good distance way Jaune leaned against the wall with a groan.

"That went great. Now I have some guy who is scarier and stronger than Cardin ON my team. ThisissobadwhatamIgoingtodoaboutit!?"

Ruby reached over to pat Jaune on the shoulder, "C'mon big guy, it's not that bad, he didn't actually glare at us right? Maybe it's just.. an off day?" The suggestion wasn't too far off for her, she understood how it was to be a little socially inept, her first couple of days at Beacon had been full of problems on a social level. Jaune didn't seem to buy into it as easily, though he did seem to calm down. "Let's get to class."

* * *

"Can't say I envy those guys having him on their team, he's definitely strong but he seemed a bit intense," Yang mused, legs kicking behind her as she flipped through a magazine on her bed. Team RWBY had gathered in their dorm after their classes for the day had ended, since Ruby and Jaune had taken so long during their break to get back to class they had had the chance to discuss the news regarding Raelenn in detail until now.

"At least we're not stuck with him," Weiss commented as she inspected her rapier's blade dismissing the issue altogether it seemed.

Blake nodded in agreement, "I had a bad feeling about him, his aura was really strange," for the moment her book was folded and placed on the shelf beside her.

Ruby hopped off of her bed, "Right? Normally you get a warm feeling from it but his was cold and well, dark."

Weiss frowned, "Look, he's just strong don't get intimidated, I'm sure Professor Ozpin wouldn't have let him enroll if he thought he'd be dangerous right?"

"You're right," Ruby agreed feeling better about it, "Just over thinking things."

Blake raised a brow and picked up her book once more, flipping to her saved page, "As usual."

Meanwhile, in the Team JNPR dorm...

"Jaune it will be fine, you said it yourself, he didn't glare at you or anything," Pyrrha reassured him like she normally did, watching as he paced back and forth in their room. Nora was making a game of counting how many cycles he was going for, making herself comfy on Lie's bed rather than her own. Lie on the other hand seemed to be tuning out the conversation fully immersed in a data terminal at a desk in the corner of the room.

"I don't even know anything about him, what he likes, what he does, otherthankickingCardin'sbuttwhichwasprettycool, and I don't think he's going to really say anything either. You should have seen it Pyrrha, he was like a statue, just standing there all cold and stoic and not talking." He went on to explain the interaction.

"I can tell you a bit about him if you want," Lie's voice cut in on Jaune's rant. Nora shifted her attention to Lie now, bounding over to drape herself over Lie's shoulder, poking at the data terminal to expand a picture. Four boys clad in armor and brandishing their weapons were seen holding a trophy to some team tournament, Raelenn was amongst them with shorter hair and a pair of bladed shields.

"Oh~" Nora cooed as she looked over the enlarged image, "That's Beacon right?" By this time Jaune and Pyrrha had made their way over as well and the entire team now stood around the data terminal.

Lie nodded and pulled up the file he'd been viewing once more, "Turns out he's not just a late enrollment, he's a re-enrollment. As in he attended Beacon Academy last year but for some reason didn't complete his first year."

"Why not? Jaune queried.

Pyrrha pointed to a small underlined piece of text, "Medical emergencies apparently. I guess something happened?"

"Right, but it doesn't specify, it just points out that he dropped out of the Academy shortly before the finals," Lie affirmed.

"What about the other guys in the picture with him?" Nora wondered, "Are they all second year students now?"

Lie shook his head, "No. Check this out," he told them and brought up a small roster list from the year before, pulling up a team titled: GRDN. Clicking the link he brought up a set of four names, the teams members: Gabriel Panzern [Withdrawn], Raelenn Arma [Withdrawn], Deen Solus [Deceased], and Nolan Everworth [Deceased].

Jaune sucked in a deep breath, "Whoa, no wonder he's so intense. Do you think whatever happened to his team is related to the medical emergency?"

"Probably," Lie responded browsing a few more notes before looking over to Jaune, "Whatever happened was probably pretty bad. More importantly, it's pretty obvious the change he went under from when he first started here to us seeing him today. His aura is also worrisome."

"I agree," Pyrrha tacked on, there was no doubt about it, it was channeling on the darkness."

Jaune raised a hand, "What do you mean?"

"Remember when I first told you about aura?" Pyrrha began, "There are two sides, Dark and Light, we all have both inside of us, however like most we channel the Light, Raelenn does not seem to, in fact, I'm certain he's channeling the Dark part."

"Is that really bad? If we have a bit of both in us, doesn't that just mean he's just using a different source?"

Pyrrha shook her head, "The source matters most, our will, our focus, it all determines a lot of things. While I don't know the full extents, there is a reason those who channel dark aura's are virtually unheard of."

"Even so... look how bright that smile was in his picture," Nora pointed out, once against looking over the picture of team GRDN, "someone who can smile like that can't be all that bad. I think he could be really nice."

Lie seemed to soften at this, "I'd keep an eye out, but Nora is right, we can't just make assumptions before we've even had a chance to get to work with him."

"You guys are right, I'll give it a shot, plus he's strong right? We'll have lots of time soon to get some team practices in, I'll try talking to him tomorrow." Jaune decided with a firm nod to reinforce his self confidence.

* * *

Episode 2 End!

Sort of short but I wanted to get the prologuey sort of stuff out of the way first and kind of adjust myself to the characters. Sort of trying to keep these in similar intervals which means some chapters will be short snippets and others longer. Call it a personal experiment.

Anyways, thanks for reading!


	3. Episode 3

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own RWBY or any of the cast of characters. Full credit goes to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

**RWBY: Guardian No More**

_Episode 3_

"Faded"

* * *

If there was one obstacle that was going to remain constant in Raelenn's return to Beacon it was going to be how he would deal with his former peers. It was only his first day returning and it was already something well known around the Academy. Having already spent nearly a full year at Beacon already he knew how fast word traveled, even then he'd thought it would have been possible to buy himself a few days if he kept it low key. He'd already retreated back into the main building once he was a group of his former class mates heading his way, taking refuge on the rooftop above the central dormitories.

At least the quiet isolation the roof provided was pleasant enough, no one to question him or make half assed greetings, no one about to approach him offering pity and hollow words of encouragement. He didn't care what they had to say at this point, what they had to offer, he wasn't back to make new friends or re-establish ties with old ones. Of course, if his resolve had truly been that hardened he wouldn't have retreated like he had, fled to the rooftop, hiding away rather than facing them head on. He grit his teeth at the thought, it was too late to be having these sorts of weaknesses.

* * *

-Six Months Ago-

An explosion from the boats engine room wracked the deck sending most of the fleeing passengers to their knees. The luxury air ship Destiny had crash landed after a terrorist attack, that utterly destroyed the aircrafts engines rendering the vessel useless after a crash landing. Between the various explosions and fire spreading, it was left with the fate of burning up as passengers and surviving crew scrambled to escape the wreckage. Team GRDN and Team MNTL of Beacon Academy were also present, en route to their home kingdom after a mission abroad, and though rattled by the incident they were leading evacuation procedures alongside the Destiny's crew.

Gabriel Panzern suppressed a corridor of flames with outstretched arms and his aura, allowing for a clear escape route for the last of the civilian passengers to escape. Once the last person emerged from the collapsing cabin, he released his barrier and withdrew. The rest of Team GRDN had been doing similar tasks, reinforcing specific areas to ensure evacuation. Meanwhile MNTL had one of their members, Trace, injured in the initial crash reducing their team to three members temporarily, leaving Nathaniel and Leena to cover their faunus captain Miria as she combed over crashed airship wreckage with her aura for survivors that were missed or trapped.

A piercing screech drew all eyes skyward as a pair of dark winged figures wheeled overhead, circling around the rising pillar of smoke. The seven members of the teams gathered near the remains of the airship.

Nolan grinned, flashing a wide toothy smile despite the ash and dirt that covered his face much like the others, "Go figure, a pair of Nevermore's show up after we've exhausted ourselves," he scratched at the back of his bald head, hoisting a claymore over his shoulder.

Deen finished reloading the Dust Crystals in his Trident looking over to his cousin Miria with a knowing grin and fox ears twitching, "Ain't easy bein' the heroes is it?"

A silver haired girl popped over Miria's shoulder and winked at him, "Want to just sit back and enjoy a cup of tea while the rest of us do the heavy lifting?"

"What are you geting cocky for? That's a -pair- of Nevermores up there," a dark skinned boy droned with a frown.

"Jerk, way to kill the mood," she shot back at him, the two remaining members of MNTL glared at each other.

Mira finally cut in, "Nathaniel, Leena, can't you two get along already?" Nathaniel only let out a sound of dismissal as he returned his attention to the two winged Grimm circling overhead.

The sound of a heavy tower shield hitting the ground behind the group drew their attention to the towering form of Gabriel, team GRDN's leader, "We've got civilians to protect here as well, it's time for us to show the people what Beacon's future Hunters and Huntress' can do. Raelenn, what's the strategy?" he looked expectantly at their teams strategist, folding his arms across his chest.

"We'll need to split up. Draw the attention of both enemies long enough for us to get the civilians out of here. Ideally we'll take down both Grimm as well, but... given we're not at full functioning capacity retreat is the safer option. Team GRDN will handle the distraction and take down," Raelenn began to draw a small diagram in the ground with a stick, "Miria, I want your team to handle the evacuation of civilians, head west through the tree's. Since MNTL specializes in long ranged support once the people are in a safe location you'll be able to come back to our assistance faster."

Rising from his spot he activated the shields on his forearms, "Team GRDN will go in our standard two man formation. Deen and I will be the vanguard." He looked between each of the different team members present, opening the floor to objections but received none. Miria and Gabriel took this places beside each other and ushered their two teams on.

"Let's go!"

* * *

-Present-

As the first stars began to shine Raelenn took it as his signal to make his way back to his room, but as he cracked open the rooftop entrance he was greeted by a familiar face, one he had hoped would be the last person in the academy to seek him out. Orange-red eyes focused on his face as their owned stepped forward out of the poorly lit staircase, her porcelain skin and flaming red hair lighting up in the moonlight, a pair of pointed ears twitched slightly. Her approach forced him into a retreat, and as she stalked his steps nothing was said, she simply stared at him expectantly. It was Raelenn who broke eye contact first, shutting his eyes and turning away from the girl.

"So it was you," she finally broke the silence between them stopping once he turned away from her.

A moment passed before he replied to her, finally looking back and meeting her gaze, "Yes."

The faunus' clenched a fist, "Why?" At their distance he could sense her anger even if her bubbling aura didn't tip him off. Her eyes bore into him mercilessly, searching for a reaction but receiving none. The brief silence was enough for the young man to recompose himself, guarded cold front up like a force field, a harsh cold look returning to his eyes once again. She didn't falter, instead she stepped forward despite having to raise her head to maintain eye contact, "Why didn't you tell us you were coming back?"

His lack of a response caused her to press further, "We were all worried! When you stopped letting us visit in the hospital and then disa-"

"Enough," he finally told her firmly, "Things aren't the same anymore Miria, there's no reason for you to concern yourself with me any longer."

She reached out to stop him as he moved away but he evaded the action entirely, "Of course there is! We all care-"

"You shouldn't!" He cut her off, voice raised louder than he wanted, "Tch," he turned away from her, stuffing his hands in his uniforms pocket, "Just forget that I'm even here," he told her finally as he brushed past without a second glance leaving Miria on the rooftop alone.

"We're not going to."

* * *

The excitement of the previous day had died yet to die down the morning after, at least amongst the first year students at Beacon. The subject as quite a bit different though, going from speculation to gossip, as word of Raelenn's confrontation with Cardin had spread around the Academy. Many were surprised given how Cardin excelled in combat, a few were rather impressed, those who'd been bullied by him in the past were rather smug when they talked about it, many feeling it was an embarrassment that was well deserved. When Cardin himself heard about what was being said he threw a fit.

"Cocky bastard, he only got the better of me because he caught me off guard," he fumed as he ground his fist into the palm of his hand.

The rest of his team were in tow as usual though they didn't say much, only vague acknowledgements to what was being said. They were there and they each felt the cold aura surrounding the transfer student, even if Cardin wasn't going to admit it. Of course, given his mood they weren't about to tell him otherwise which left them to simply nod and offer the odd word of encouragement for their team Leader.

It was then that Cardin's brain clicked into gear, "It's we've got sparring today, I'll get him then. I won't lose to him in a real fight."

"Why don't we just leave him alone Cardin? Just knock around some big mouths and make 'em regret running their traps?" Russel suggested hopeful that Cardin would accept the alternative. Even if he wouldn't admit it he didn't want to have to face down that ridiculous aura if he could avoid it. Unfortunately for the green haired member of CRDL member their leader wasn't going to have it.

He spun around and glared at his subordinate, "Are you telling me to just let everyone think he's better than me? So what if he's some hot shot from last year, he make the cut and he's back again for a second helping, I'll make him regret it."

* * *

Jaune hated the sparring classes. He never won, he never did really well, and he always ended up sore for the rest of the day after whoever his opponent was finished throttling him. Even when Pyrrha praised him during their small training sessions he never felt much confidence, one of the worst times was when Yang was paired up against him, she beat him so thoroughly that he'd missed the following days classes laying in bed. Now there was someone else to worry about in his class, beyond Yang and Cardin, someone scarier, someone he was supposed to **lead**.

As the clock ran down so did the list of students set for sparring and demonstrations, and as the list grew smaller so did the chances of his name being called. Professor Goodwitch skimmed her portable data terminal, finger running down a list of names, "Jaune Arc,"

"Aw..."

She pressed a button to randomize the selection, "And Cardin Winchester."

"Aw man."

Pyrrha and Ruby looked on sympathetically as Jaune rose to his feet.

"Hold on Ms. Goodwitch," Cardin called out from his seat standing with a cocky grin, "As much as like wiping the floor with Jauney Boy here, I could really go for something more interesting."

Glynda frowned, placing her terminal on the stand in front of her, "Mr. Winchester these matches are randomly determined-"

"So what? That's boring, why don't you give the new guy a shot?" Cardin thrust a finger in Raelenn's direction. The raven haired student simply offered a blank stare before turning away with obvious disinterest, the action itself spurned Cardin into anger, "What? Too scared to fight me when I've got a weapon in my hand pretty boy? Heh, no wonder you and your crap team never made it to the second year."

"Cardin, cease and-" Glynda started but was cut off as Raelenn responded to the taunt.

"Professor, I'll fight him," he agreed rising to his feet.

Cardin smirked, he'd taken the bait as far as he was concerned, "C'mon Professor, he agreed."

The blond pushed up her glasses looking between the two male students, eyes lingering on Raelenn, "I won't-"

"I think this will prove to be rather interesting, I'll approve this," the voice of Professor Ozpin drifted into the room. He took up a spot in front of the class next to Glynda with a small smile on his face, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion Ms. Goodwitch."

She frowned at the Headmaster, but gave in, "It's fine."

Cardin was already in the combat area his mace over his shoulder as he waited for his opponent to join him. Raelenn made his way over to Yang's seat, "My equipment is in disarray, if you would allow me, I would like to request the use of one of your gauntlets. I will not break it, "he assured her."

"On one condition," Yang beamed, "You beat that idiots face in good," she told him as she disconnected the gauntlet on her left arm. Quickly she stuck her tongue out at Cardin before handing the item to Raelenn who nodded his thank you as he slipped the gauntlet over his hand. He made his way over to the combat zone, leveling his gaze with Cardins.

Once Raelenn stood in position, the match countdown started.

* * *

Episode 3 End!

I'm probably going to be updating this fic about once to twice a week at best as a minor FYI. Welp, there's that, sort of an awkward chapter end, but I'm trying to figure out how I want the action to go down writing wise. I'm hoping to be able to keep it as fast paced as possible!

Thanks for reading! Love PM's and Reviews as always~


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